Cover My Eyes
by le.etoile
Summary: She left once, he found her. She left again, and he found her once more. He thinks that when he finds her this time, he won't have to lose her again, but this time, he loses her for good.
1. Chapter 1

_Cover my eyes_

_Cover my ears_

_Tell me these words are a lie_

He remembered those words, the words that made his heart wretch in pain.

"_Orihime Inoue is a traitor."_

He refused to believe that, because he knew better. She was his friend, his nakama… And he knew she would never leave them for the enemy. He thought she'd never leave _him_. He thought she'd always be by his side, shining that radiant smile of hers.

But it was reality. She did leave to go with the enemy. And he beat himself up for letting her out of his sight. He promised he would protect her, but failed. He decided to himself that after trying and trying to find her, he'd apologize, but… He'd promise again to her, he'd protect her for as long as she lives.

_It can't be true_

_That I'm losing you_

_The sun cannot fall from the sky_

He found her. _He found her._ And despite the hardships she'd been through, she still tried to smile for him, telling him everything was okay, and that he wasn't at fault. He didn't know if he wanted to swear at the situation, telling her that is was indeed his fault, or if he just wanted to hug her and never let go.

Eventually he had wished he had done the latter, because he let her out of his sight again, although unintentionally, and she went to finish her important task. She went, regardless of what would happen to her in the end.

_Can you hear heaven cry_

_Tears of an angel_

_Tears of an aaaangel…_

_Tears of an angel_

_Tears of an aaaangel._

She stood over the Hōgyoku, all of her concentration focused on the small orb.

_Inoue!_

She could have sworn she heard his voice call out to him. 'No, I only wished I could hear his voice one more time…' She thought bitterly as a tear escaped from her eyes. The Hōgyoku was almost gone, and her body was paying the price. "I can't…" she choked out, trying to pour more focus and energy into the reversal process.

_Stop every clock_

_Stars are in shock_

_The river will run to the sea_

"Inoue!" She heard the voice call out to her again. As much as she wanted to turn her head, and match the voice with the face, she willed herself not to. She had to accomplish this task. She continued to pay attention to the Hōgyoku, until a pair of callused hands grabbed onto her wrists from behind, pulling her into a strong embrace.

"Inoue, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo's sharp voice swore at her, his breath ragged from running, most likely trying to find her. Her eyes went big and she bit her lip, refusing to say anything. She turned her focus back to her main objective, and held back the still threatening tears, tugging at the corner of her eyes. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything that'd make the situation better.

Ichigo felt a spike in her reiatsu, most likely from determination, but he still knew it was decreasing rapidly as well. 'Any longer and she'll…' He thought, but stopped because he didn't want to say it. No, he couldn't say it, because just the mere thought of her ending up like that, made his heart rip into pieces.

"Inoue, please…" He whispered into her ear desperately, his hot breath trailing over her skin. He felt her shudder under his grasp. "You're going to…" He stopped hesitantly, feeling his heart drop before actually saying it. "Die… If you keep this up." 'I'm not going to let go of you again… I can't.' She just shook her head, and forced back more tears.

_I won't let you fly_

_I won't say goodbye_

_I won't let you slip away from me_

"I-I can't… I-I'm the only one who can do this…" She replied to him, her voice coming out in short, ragged breaths. "I can't…" She started to lose focus on the small, precious orb, and was starting to think about her beloved person behind her. "K-Kurosaki-kun, I can't…" Tears fell freely now, and she stumbled with her words.

"You can't what, Inoue?" He asked her, trying his best to sound sincere and gentle, despite his current feelings of anger and desperation. He moved his hold from her wrists, and instead, snaked his arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair.

"I-I can't be a burden to you anymore…" She whispered out, her voice getting more faint by the second. His body stiffened up when she said that. No way had she ever been a burden to him! If anything, she helped… But now wasn't the time to respond about such a small, trivial thing, compared to what was currently happening.

And he could tell she was losing it. And if he didn't do something about it soon, he'd lose her.

_Can you hear heaven cry_

_Tears of an angel_

_Tears of an aaaangel..._

_Tears of an angel_

_Tears of an aaaangel._

"Just stop, Inoue… Please…" He begged her again. "You aren't a burden, you never were, but you need to stop reversing the Hōgyoku…" Her knees buckled from the continuous pressure of reversing the orb, and the obvious strain in her body. His arms were the only things holding her up now.

"K-Kurosaki-kun…" Her voice spoke quietly to him, lacking any and all emotion. He felt her reiatsu drop suddenly, and her arms, which were positioned over the Hōgyoku, slowly fell down to her sides. "I-I…"

"Hold on, Inoue, you're strong, you can get through this…" his voice cracked as he spoke. He wasn't referring to her continuing to eradicate the Hōgyoku, because he was against it in the first place, but now he just wanted to hold on for her life. "I've got you, but you have to hold on too…"

_So hold on_

_Be strong_

_Everyday on we'll go_

_I'm here, don't you fear_

She was limp in his arms now, all her strength now gone from her body. The Hōgyoku hadn't even disappeared. It didn't matter to Ichigo, because he only worried about his important friend dying in his arms.

But… He couldn't help but think that she was _so_ much more than an important friend… But he couldn't put his finger on it. All he knew was that if she was gone, he knew he'd never, ever be the same without her.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Her small voice spoke out almost silently into the already quiet room. "I'm sorry…" She forced a small smile onto her pale face. He turned her around so she was now facing him, while still in his arms. His eyebrows furrowed.

"What the hell do you have to be sorry for?" He tried laughing a bit to make light of the situation, but he found it difficult to do. He just tried talking to her as long as possible, trying to keep her awake.

_Little one don't let go_

_Don't let go_

_Don't let go_

A small blush crept up her face, adding more color, and she continued to smile. "Sorry I left… Sorry I was a burden…" She blushed a bit harder and slowly closed her eyes. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner." He subconsciously stroked his thumb across her cheek, wiping her tears away.

"Tell me what?" He inquired, now curious. He tightened his grip on her small fragile body. Her smile started to fade, and she started to whisper few words from her lips.

"That for five lifetimes, I'll love…" He couldn't help but feel déjà vu with her words of five lifetimes. He looked at her intently, wondering why she stopped talking.

And his heart stopped.

"I-Inoue?…" Ichigo's voice called out to her, barely above a whisper.

Because her heart stopped.

He shook her small shoulders lightly, as if he was just trying to awake her from sleep. "I-Inoue, w-wake up…" He started sounding more desperate. He forced the lump in his throat to go away as he tried to tell himself that she was okay.

'This can't be true… Please tell me that this is a lie…'

_Cover my eyes_

_Cover my ears_

_Tell me these words are a lie_


	2. Reflections

Yeaaah, I decided to make a second chapter, mainly about Ichigo reflecting. Here you go!

(P.S. I dun own Bleach. T^T)

* * *

Five minutes.

Five days.

Five weeks.

Five years.

Five lifetimes…

.

It didn't matter how long ago she died… To him, it felt like it had been eternities.

It wasn't like when Rukia left. Everybody remembered her. Everybody remembered her, and it pained him inside. Especially when he saw _her_. His childhood friend. The best friend of his dead friend.

'Why does the word 'friend' sound so bitter in my mind…?'

No words were said. His eyes showed all. And her tears showed her sadness.

"Ichigo, do you know where Orihime-chan is?"

"Where is Inoue-san?"

He heard those questions over and over again. He never responded to them, almost as if he didn't want to be involved in her disappearance in the first place. When asked the question, only a twinge of sadness flashed across his eyes as he gave them a bitter and painful smile.

.

Five minutes was the amount of time to watch her die.

.

Five days was the time to get back to the World of the Living. As soon as the rescue team met up the group in Hueco Mundo, he didn't say a word. He silently handed off her limp, cold body to them, and left.

.

Five weeks was the amount of time it took to convince him that it wasn't all a dream. It had really happened, and he wasn't at fault. When they told him, "You aren't at fault," he remembered her sweet voice, tinged with bitter sorrow, as she said the same words to him.

.

Five years would be the time it took him to learn the true meaning behind her words… Her true confession. The one she spoke of as she died in his arms.

.

And five lifetimes would be the number of times she would fall in love with him, the amount of times he would promise to give his life for hers. He would definitely protect her.

And five lifetimes would be how many times he vowed to fall in love with her in return.

…

'It's interesting…' Images of her beautiful and radiating smile flew into his mind. 'It's interesting how you never, ever realize what you have…

'Until you lose it.

…

He thought he was dreaming again when _those_ words escaped from her fragile lips on that eventful day. He tends to think of that day as the one that changed his life.

"For five lifetimes, I'll love…"

It made him remember the dream – No, the nightmare, he had the night she was taken away to Hueco Mundo. Unfortunately, he remembered it as if it was yesterday.

"Ahh, I wish I could have five lifetimes! I could be born in five different towns, have five different jobs, eat five different lifetimes worth of food, and…"

He could clearly see her cheerful face and hear her angelic voice as she excitedly spoke of her wish of five lifetimes. But her expression grew soft, and her voice was now lowered significantly.

"And for those five lifetimes, I would fall in love with the same person…"

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun…" He extended his hand, trying to reach out to her and prevent her from leaving.

'I promised I'd protect her, dammit!' His thoughts rushed through his head. 'I'm not letting her go!"

.

"Thank you… Kurosaki-kun…"

"It wasn't your fault, so please don't apologize to me, nor look at me with those eyes."

"Don't die Kurosaki-kun!!"

"I'm sorry…" 'For what?' "Sorry I left, sorry I was a burden… Sorry for not telling you sooner."

His memories twisted her face into a painful grin, with sad eyes exposing unshed tears.

"_Sayonara…"_


End file.
